ArcticWATCH – PhD

Type: PhD scholarship

Position: Full-time for 48 months (4 years)

Net salary: ~2300 €/month (incl. social insurance and transportation to/from work)

Start date: Any time between now and October 2023

Keywords: Rapid Arctic sea ice loss events, interannual variability, predictability, mechanisms, precursors of dramatic sea ice changes

Description of the work:

The successful candidate will contribute to improving our understanding of rapid Arctic sea ice loss events (RILEs). These events consist of dramatic reductions in the sea ice extent on interannual time scales. RILEs are ubiquitous in climate model simulations but their governing mechanisms, their precursors, as well as their impacts remain poorly understood. As a first step, the PhD student will characterize the RILEs in the CMIP6 and Large Ensemble databases. Then, he/she will conduct a thorough assessment of the mechanisms governing the RILEs evolution in state-of-the-art climate models through a detailed sea ice mass balance analysis in the above databases. Finally, he/she will look at the impacts of RILEs on the atmosphere-ocean-land sea ice system.

The work will be conducted in the framework of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant funded project “ArcticWATCH: early warning of future rapid Arctic sea ice loss” (2023-2027).

Expected profile:

The successful candidate should

• hold an MSc in climatology, Earth Sciences, physics, engineering, or related by July 1st, 2023;
• ideally, have worked over a sea ice related topic in his/her MSc thesis;
• be experienced with the analysis of climatic data;
• demonstrate verbal and written communication skills in English;
• demonstrate autonomy, sense of initiative and proactivity.

How to apply?

Applicants should send to François Massonnet (francois.massonnet@uclouvain.be), a single PDF file containing:

1. i. A 1-page statement mentioning the research experience, the qualification, and the interest in the position.
2. ii. A complete CV 
3. iii. The name and contact information of two scientists who would agree to send a letter of recommendation.

The candidates will be short-listed based on the materials received in the application and the top-ranked candidates will be interviewed remotely. The review of applications will start on May 20. The positions are open until they are filled.